The Gringy Past of Sobedharuli Grivari
by The Immortal Sword
Summary: Grunge knew only his sister for most of his life. How can he be asked to remove her from his life?


Ascakoeth was a fierce and relentless demon, reigning down chaos for a millennia. He could destroy a single village without so much more than a wave of his hand.   
  
He also took prisoners, or as he preferred to call them, "new toys." He took men for bloody combats, and he took women to curb his sexual desires.  
  
Most women didn't survive so much as a single session.  
  
However, Cecilia, High Priestess of Athena, hung on to life by a thread. She was cast aside by Ascakoeth, since she caused a "burning sensation." When she   
  
recovered, she attempted to return to her place amongst the priesthood, but was again cast aside, because, unbeknownst to her but beknownst to us, she was   
  
impregnated by the foul demon.  
  
Living in exile for the next two years, she gave birth to the spawn of Ascakoeth. The first was a girl, born with her father's wings. The second, born a year   
  
later, was a boy, whose eyes burned like coals and had two tiny horns atop his head. Both births were excruciating. But she retained a mother's love for her children.  
  
She asked Athena for guidance, but received nothing but a few words scrawled upon a broken chair.   
  
"Birth of demon spawn.  
  
Berth of demon hatred.  
  
Spare their lives.  
  
Lose them to their past."  
  
And so she lived as a beggar, keeping her children out of the public eye as best she could.  
  
Until one day, when a man clad in a black cloak over his head approached her.  
  
"Your children are not of human fatherhood, correct?" he asked in a voice as cold as slate.  
  
"N...no, they're not." she responded hesitantly.  
  
"I can give them a better life than the scraping life you are giving them."  
  
"How dare you?! The life they have now is the best I can provide! What business is it of yours how they live?"  
  
"Because I can give them a future where they live in glory."  
  
This caught the woman off guard. True, the living they have now is not one appropriate for the children of a priestess, but could they live in such glory,   
  
amongst normal humans?  
  
"Tell me about this life you offer."  
  
The man laughed maniacally. "If I were to tell you about their glorious future, you would have me slain." Then, without warning, the man drew a small   
  
dagger from within his cloak and buried it deep into her abdomen. The woman let out a soft grunt, then fell limp.  
  
  
  
From our hiding spot, we were horrified when the man in black stabbed our mother. He then sniffed around, and turned toward us. I was scared, but determined   
  
to protect my sister as best I could.  
  
But it seemed as though he could have found us no matter where we hid.  
  
"Come out, children," he called. "I mean you no harm."  
  
Without warning, his tall figure loomed over us, ominous in his faceless sneer. He reached out for us with his thin, sallow hands.  
  
"No!" I heard from my sister as she darted upward at him, slashing at the area where his face should be.  
  
"You show a natural ferocity," he responded, snatching her arm with catlike reflexes. "But you need to learn to respect your master!" Taking her wriggling   
  
body, he swung her into the wall, and her body fell just as limp as our mother's.  
  
That was it. I gave my word that I would protect my sister. And now he's forced me to act. I darted at him, swinging the crate I had been using as cover.  
  
"You, too, boy?!" Again, he responded faster than I thought was possible. His eyes were glowing with the same dark fire I've seen in my dreams, and I was   
  
paralyzed. "Your form lacks a sense of style."  
  
I saw my sister's limp body flying at me before blacking out.  
  
  
  
We were brought to a complex, where there were people similar to us in appearance. There were people whose eyes resembled coals like mine, and several   
  
beings who had wings like my sisters. We didn't know it at the time, but this was our new family.  
  
Several years, we spent training under the harsh teachings of "master." He taught us the art of stealth, cunning, and dealing death without so much as a   
  
motion. It was relentless, and we nearly broke under the strain. But, I made a promise to protect my sister, and she must have made the same promise of me.  
  
It was now time for our first test. "Master" brought us into the cavernous cathedral. We knelt before him as he spoke.  
  
"It has been 10 long and arduous years you have endured. But only now have you started to see the training come to fruition. It is time for your first   
  
test. This test will be of your skills, but also of your loyalty. One of you will survive this test; one will not." He paused, if only to study our expressions,   
  
or perhaps to increase the tension. "Grunge, Regi, your test is to slay your sibling."  
  
How can I slay my sister, the one person who has stood by me as long as I can remember? I can't! No, I won't! He can't make me! 


End file.
